Converting BECMI - B/X D&D to BRP, suggestions?

[essere74]

Dear friend, good 2023.
This is my first post on forum (I'm just a "shadow"-user 🙂 ).

Can I have your suggestion to converting BECMI or B/X Dungeons & Dragons to BRP?
I find in "Classic Fantasy" a very good system to play it, but I'll like convert module and PNG to old setting (I LOVE Mystara).
Thanks in advance
Mirko, Milan (Italy)

[Ravenheart87]

All the World's Monsters III had a guide for converting D&D stat blocks to classic RuneQuest. It's a good starting point, though I'm sure there are better, more up to date guide out there. 🙂

[Mugen]

Converting BECMI to BRP is not a very simple task.

For instance, a spell caster ability to cast multiple spells per day in D&D is a function of a character's level, whereas in BRP it's usually POW. You may solve this by introducing a Spellcasting skill, which would tell how many spells per day a character can cast.

Abilities and characteristics match only partially. Dex and Cha are very similar, but Str and Con in BRP are relative to Siz, and Int is rolled with 2d6+6. Wis and Pow have no equivalent in the other system.

Hit Points are also very different. In BRP, they're essentially "meat points", and reflects one's health, whereas in D&D they're more abstract, including one's ability to survive on a battlefield.

You'd also have to recreate most information concerning monsters, as you would not know their Str, Con, Int...

[soltakss]

On 1/11/2023 at 9:37 AM, essere74 said:

I find in "Classic Fantasy" a very good system to play it, but I'll like convert module and PNG to old setting (I LOVE Mystara).

I was going to suggest Classic Fantasy as a starting point, as it is excellent.

To a certain point, you can convert Classes from D&D to Classes in Classic Fantasy fairly well. Similarly, Levels convert to average skill percentages.

Spells are harder, as you need to convert them to the BRP equivalents.

Also, Spell Casting in D&D works very differently to BRP. I would use the concept of a Rune Pool from RQG and give Spell Casters Pools to cast their spells from.

 

[Bromo]

On 1/11/2023 at 4:37 AM, essere74 said:

Can I have your suggestion to converting BECMI or B/X Dungeons & Dragons to BRP?
I find in "Classic Fantasy" a very good system to play it, but I'll like convert module and PNG to old setting (I LOVE Mystara).
 

I have had good luck in converting adventures for use with BRP.  The B adventures are really good for that since you are supposed to fill in the monsters yourself.

For BRP characters, I tended to use Magic World and their systems.  But, one could make a magic system similar to D&D's spell system.  Because they took it right from Jack Vance's spell system in dying earth.  You memorize the spell and in casting it, the magic causes you to forget it, and you have to re-memorize to re-cast.  So you can "learn" spells as a slot.  You could have a "Magic Spell" skill which gives you a certain number of slots at you hit certain percentages, gated by your intelligence since it is rote memorization.  FIguring POW into it for any saving throws or conflict to cause the spell to affect others ?

[Joerg]

Gloranthan rune magic - at least the one-use model for initiates in RQ3 - is "fire and forget" with regards to the POW points, which need another sacrifice for that spell. The D&D wizard has a contingent of casting slots per time between major rests requiring re-connecting that energy with the spell formula. In a way, a magic currency needs to be allocated (sacrificed) for the spell, keeping the spell in a state where an incantation and possibly some material can activate it. Sounds like how Mythras (or at least RQ6) handles divine magic.

[Mugen]

Sandy Petersen's Sorcery rules for RQ3 allowed sorcerers to prepare spells in advance, to be kept in memory and cast very quickly when needed.

That's however the only link between these rules and D&D.